I called about a month ago to get my central air conditioning condenser cleaned and the tech came today. They never mentioned the cost and I figured $250 or so. It was $329 and the tech was at my house for a bit over 30 minutes. (Yes, he had to travel too.) It was absolutely plugged with dirt and needed to be cleaned with coil cleaner and not just running a hose over it.
I absolutely would have done it myself had I realized how expensive it would be. I could get some good coil cleaner and the nice applicator gun for $100. I really need to get a capacitor for my A/C unit so I can replace it myself. Besides the labor cost, getting someone out to fix a central A/C unit is running a week or more for a no cooling call. I know how to diagnose and properly discharge a capacitor.